July vehicle orders drop, but remain on track

While net orders for commercial vehicles in July appear to have dropped, concern that the economy is beginning to take a toll on orders is likely unfounded, according to ACT Research.

“It is easy to attribute July’s order decline to the pull-back in the rate of economic activity. However, July is historically the weakest order month of the year, so the drop in Class 8 net orders below 20,000 units in July was expected,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst. “When seasonally adjusted, July’s Class 8 orders are in line with recent activity.”

According to ACT, preliminary numbers indicate there were 18,800 Class 8 units ordered in July and 11,800 Class 5-7 orders. Final numbers will be released in mid-August. June net orders topped 21,000 in Class 8 and 14,600 for Class 5-7.

July numbers remain ahead of year-ago levels, ACT said. Vieth also noted that August is traditionally the second weakest month for Class 8 orders.